Sports Consulting Careers: What's the Best Route to Take?

Sports Consulting, whether sport psychology, marketing, sport science or any other form of consulting, is becoming a popular career choice but it can be hard to get into. This post explores one particular approach,  in response to an interesting question from Mustafa Sarkar,:

"do you think with the service of sport psychologists being so competitive nowadays and depending so heavily on their reputation, that it may be necessary for up and coming sport psychologists to initially start in academia so that everyone in the field is aware of them as an expert in a particular research area (mental toughness for example)?".

I'm going to share my opinion, but would welcome any other views - whether in agreement or not. I'm also not going to focus on psychology, because I think the response is relevant to consulting in any area of sports performance or business.

Quite categorically, my answer in "No". Indeed, it may be "No No No No"!

OK, let me qualify that.

I'm not suggesting that recognition as an expert won't help open doors. It might even open doors at the highest level, if you specialize in the right area. But what happens when you get in front of the client?

If you want to be a consultant, then what you need first and foremost are consulting skills. If you are an expert, but a crappy consultant, all you are to your clients is a crappy consultant with some great bits of paper.

If you are good, you will get more work. Don't expect people to queue at your door, but that's basically what it boils down to. If you are good, you have a story to tell, and you'll have clients that are willing to recommend you.

If you want to become an academic, go and do it. The grass is always greener, and some academics might not agree with me but as an academic you have the opportunity to pursue a narrow field of enquiry in great depth. You are reasonably well paid, you get a lot of freedom, a lot of time off, and opportunities to travel and learn.

But, if you want to be a real expert as an academic, you need to work hard to build that reputation, first through your PhD, then by doing a lot of research, getting your platform through the formal publishing and presenting route. It takes time. With the best of intentions, a career as a consultant will have to take a back seat, otherwise you might just find that you are a mediocre academic, in a mediocre institution doing mediocre consulting work on the side.

The other thing is that as an academic, your primary audience is other academics. As a consultant they are not your target market!

It is about focus.

Likewise, building up a reputation as a consultant will take time and effort. In many ways, it is easier though. You are in control. First of all, you can give yourself away to gain experience, but do this with care. You don't want to be in demand because you are free. You want to be in demand because you are good. If you do a good job and build good relationships, you will get repeat work. You can also ask clients to refer you to people in their network.

Second, you are in control of your output. You can publish opinion pieces and practical material (here and/or on your own blog/site) that will bring you closer to potential clients. You don't have to jump through the hoops of the editorial committee. Your audience is your judge. If you build up a following on the web, it is because what you write is interesting or helpful.

If you have enough knowledge and the right skills you can bridge the gap between the academic world, which is unfathomable to your client, and your client's needs. That's your expertise as a consultant. You need some depth, you need broad knowledge too, but you don't need to be the foremost expert in a specific area - you just need to be able to assess your clients needs and deliver a solution that meets them. What if you are an expert in mental toughness? What if that's not the client's problem. But you've been building up this expertise over years. They say that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

It boils down to this. Set yourself a goal. Focus your activity around that goal. Only do the things that will contribute to that goal (holding down a job in a supermarket for a while might contribute if it means that you have a basic income from doing shifts that allows you to go out and start building experience). Forget the rest. Every time something comes up, think critically about the contribution that it will make. But don't get tunnel vision (I know that sounds contradictory - stay focused on the goal but do keep an open mind and review the appropriateness of your goal from time to time. Don't flog a dead horse).

I make this last point because I dreamt of being a sport psychologist. By the time I got out and did it, I had so many commitments that it wasn't realistic any more. I didn't have the time I needed to build my reputation without a regular income at the level that I'd come to need. I did it for long enough to stratch the itch, but I moved on.

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Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com